Published on November 1, 2020 | Last Updated April 12, 2022
Washington has a rich agriculture scene and is a perfect place to grow cash crops. The state has about 300 agricultural commodities grown and produced. Although it has a short growing season, fertile soil and lots of rainfall make this area well suited to vegetables and more! Agriculture accounts for over 12% of the State’s economy.
Washington’s apples are sold in ALL 50 States! It ranks number one for 11 different commodities as well and ranked number two for that many as well. This isn’t even accounting for the wine industry or the livestock industry that Washington has thriving. There is something for every month of the year that comes out of Washington from cherries to cabbage, the right crop is out there for you to grow!
Planting Crops for Profit
A little over forty percent of exported goods from Washington are fruit! Apples are the expected fruit, but surprisingly raspberries have the largest market share in the state. Washington has about 40,000 farms within its borders which occupies about fifteen million acres of land.
Potato Crop
Best Crops to Grow for a Profit in Washington
The biggest cash crops produced in Washington are potatoes, wheat, apples, and barley.
- Potatoes – worth a little more than $5,000 per acre
- Apples – there are over 11 billion apples grown per year in Washington, it’s a popular staple to say the least, worth over $12,000 per acre
- Wheat – Occupy the most acreage , it’s worth about $485 per acre
- Barley and Hops – Not just for beer, it’s worth about $6,000 per acre
- Green Beans – the State grows over 3,330 acres per year! Over 450 farms and the kind grown is the bush variety in almost all cases
- Corn – sweet corn can get you over 16,000 pounds per acre at about $6,500 per acre!
Even more cash crops grown in Washington
- Concord Grapes – Harvest in September and October, plant or find in the wild.
- Pumpkins – grown in almost every county in Washington, request about 85 to 120 days to grow from a seedling to picking.
Beets – plant about two weeks before the last frost date- Pole Snap Bean – plant after the last frost date, in late spring
- Peas – plant about a month before the last frost, but make sure the soil is dry-ish.
- Peaches – grow well throughout the state including the west, make sure to keep weeds out of the way!
- Kale – plant directly about two weeks before the last frost
- Snow/snap bean – plant after the last frost date, in late spring
- Broccoli – start inside and transplant after they get their first sets of true leaves, and about two weeks before the last frost
- Asparagus – harvest begins in April and goes through May. The warmer it is, the faster they grow. Can product about 10,000 lbs per acre.
- Cranberries – not easy to grow, but you’ll need cool, boggy land. Will want to make sure you have lots of water around for these guys
- Carrot – plant about two weeks before the last frost date
- Onion – love the sunny long days of the summer, usually good for storage or eaten fresh!
- Lettuce -fare well in early part of growing season
- Pears – picked before they’re ripe on the tree, over 50% of all USA pears come from Washington!
- Cauliflower – start inside and transplant after they get their first sets of true leaves, and about two weeks before the last frost
- Radishes – plant a month before the last frost date
- Cherries – Washington grows half the sweet cherries in the country. Harvest begins in June and lasts through August.
